Rwanda and Liberia have signed a five-year cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening local government institutions and supporting Liberia’s efforts to decentralise authority and resources to communities.
The agreement was signed between Rwanda Cooperation Initiative, an institution that shares Rwanda’s homegrown solutions and experience with other countries, and Liberia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
It will focus on strengthening local government capacity, improving service delivery and helping Liberia develop a governance system that embraces technology and greater citizen participation.
Richard Niyonshuti, head of Rwanda Cooperation Initiative, said the agreement builds on existing cooperation between the two countries, noting that Liberia has regularly sent delegations to Rwanda to learn how its institutions operate.
“We have received various delegations interested in learning how Rwanda carries out different activities, including land administration, financial management and other services,” he said.
Liberia’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Edward Mulbah, said his country had already benefited significantly from Rwanda’s experience, particularly in using technology to deliver public services, including through the Irembo platform.
He said Liberia wants to build a technology-driven governance system to improve the way public services are delivered to citizens.
Rwanda’s Minister of Local Government, Dominique Habimana, described the agreement as an important step towards strengthening relations and cooperation between the two countries.
He said Liberia would use the partnership to learn how Rwanda has addressed governance challenges through approaches that involve citizens.
“During this five-year journey, they will explore how to adapt some of Rwanda’s local governance programmes to their own context so that their citizens can access better services that support their development,” he said.
Over the past eight years, Rwanda Cooperation Initiative has hosted 22 delegations from Liberia, comprising 139 participants, for experience-sharing activities across various sectors.
The partnership is expected to help Liberia improve governance and accelerate its decentralisation programme, drawing on lessons from its years of cooperation with Rwanda.
